Linking sustainability reporting to sustainability performance through regulation Online publication date: Fri, 16-Apr-2021
by Rendani Mavis Matakanye; Huibrecht Margaretha Van Der Poll
J. for Global Business Advancement (JGBA), Vol. 14, No. 1, 2021
Abstract: Greenwashing tendencies within a highly regulated mining industry may be a challenge. Therefore, underpinned by stakeholder theory, this study evaluates whether sustainability reporting (SR) by South African mining companies is linked to actual sustainability performance (SP). The study is confined to three sustainability dimensions namely, community development, employee welfare, and environmental protection. The objectives of the study were to create linkages between SR and SP; and to understand the SR-SP factor structure. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, the pairwise t-test, a structural equation model and Cohen's D were employed. Regulation on its own has a small effect on reducing greenwashing, therefore, arguably there is a need to explore other stakeholder-centric regulatory mechanisms to reduce the perceived SR-SP gap. Future research could investigate the effects of greenwashing from a multi-stakeholder perspective.
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